Autotransplantation, i.e., the transfer of one's own tissue from one location to another, is used, for example, for replacement or repair in the urinary tract or in the vascular system or in other body sites.
In autotransplantations, one problem is preserving the tissue between the time of removal from the donor location and the transplantation so as to improve chances of effective transplantation.
We turn now to hypospadias. This is a well recognized urologic congenital anomaly occurring in one of three hundred newborn boys in which the urethral opening is on the underside of the penis at a point proximal to the distal end of the penis. In most instances, primary reconstruction can be accomplished with local penile and preputial skin. Occasionally, the pediatric urologist is confronted with the situation of deficient genital skin due to a prior operation or a high degree of urethral abnormality. In some instances, free extragenital non-hair bearing skin tissue, bladder mucosa tissue, and buccal mucosa tissue have been used as grafts for forming a urethra. The graft tissue is implanted into the penis to form a complete urethra. Urethrocutaneous fistulas are a persistent problem in hypospadias repair with an incidence up to 30%. A reason for the incidence of urethrocutaneous fistulas is believed to be inadequate preservation of the graft, especially where the graft is extragenital tissue.